Rare copy of US Constitution to be sold at auction

September 06, 2024 9:17 PM
By Associated Press



Part of a 1787 copy of the U.S. Constitution that will be put up for auction on Sept. 28, 2024, is shown at Brunk Auctions in Asheville, North Carolina, on Sept. 5.

ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA —
Seth Kaller, an appraiser and collector of historic documents, spreads a broad sheet of paper across a desk. It's in good enough condition that he can handle it, carefully, with clean, bare hands. There are just a few creases and tiny discolorations, even though it's just a few weeks shy of 237 years old and has spent who knows how long inside a filing cabinet in North Carolina.

At the top of the first page are familiar words but in regular type instead of the sweeping Gothic script readers are accustomed to seeing: "WE the People."

And the people will get a chance to bid for this copy of the U.S. Constitution — the only one of its type thought to be in private hands — at a sale by Brunk Auctions on September 28 in Asheville, North Carolina.

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Few copies remain

It's one of about 100 copies printed by the secretary of that Congress, Charles Thomson. Just eight are known to still exist and the other seven are publicly owned.

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